Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-06
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
The first table below shows changes in the total population of New York City from 1800 to 2000. The second and third tables show changes in the population of the five districts of the city (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) over the same period.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
The three tables compare the changes in the total population growth of the five cities in New York; Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island between the year 1800, 1900 and 2000.
Overall, the New York city saw a significant increase in population throughout the period and became dominant in 2000. Although the Manhattan also saw a progressive increase, but it's percentage share decreased and declined dramatically till 2000. The other five cities surged both in population and percentage share spontanously.
The city of New York's total number people in 1800 was about 79,216 and the district Manhattan was just in 60,515 with 76% share. and the five districts on 18,701 population and 24% share. There was a progressive increase with time, during the year 1900, the city total number of population dramatically surged to over 3.4 million population growth, this similar progress was also seen in Manhattan with an additional increase to approximately 1.9 million population growth with decrease in share of about 54% share. In comparison, In 1900, other five cities increased in population to close 1.6 million population surge and an increase in share as well.
The year 2000 was when the whole cities reached it's peak.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response covers the main trends, but it is incomplete. You failed to provide data for the individual districts (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) as requested by the prompt, instead grouping them as 'other five cities'. Furthermore, the response ends abruptly after the second paragraph, leaving the 2000 data largely unanalysed. To reach a higher band, you must ensure all parts of the prompt are addressed, including specific comparisons between the districts, and provide a complete summary of the data provided in the tables rather than stopping mid-analysis.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay has a basic structure, but the progression of ideas is hindered by the incomplete nature of the final paragraph. While you use some cohesive devices like 'Overall' and 'In comparison', the flow is often mechanical. The paragraphing is insufficient; the final paragraph is only one sentence long, which disrupts the logical development of the report. To improve, ensure each paragraph has a clear focus and use a wider variety of linking words to connect your observations more fluidly.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'significant increase', 'progressive increase', and 'surged'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'spontanously' (spelling error) and 'the whole cities reached it's peak' (incorrect usage of 'it's'). The repetition of 'population growth' and 'share' limits the sophistication of your writing. Focus on using more precise synonyms and ensuring correct spelling to improve your score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but accuracy is inconsistent. There are several grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('the Manhattan also saw', 'the whole cities reached') and punctuation errors ('Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island' should be preceded by a colon or phrased differently). The misuse of apostrophes (e.g., 'it's' instead of 'its') is frequent. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur often enough to lower the score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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